Four Years Difference
by Juelz Rox
Summary: Four years can seem like a big chunk of time but in retrospect it is very small. Many things can happen in four years though. This is a story on how a time frame of four years shaped Severus Snape's Life.
1. Prologue

A/N: Hello everyone this is my first Fan Fic and I hope you like it. Please if any of you feel my character is a Mary Sue please please please tell me because I worked hard not to make her a cliché but she might have turned out that way and if she did I need to know so that I can change her. Also I hope you like the story. Also I sort of changed Severus' birthday for the sake of the story, I hope that doesn't bother all of you hard core Severus fans.

Disclaimer: I wish I owned the Harry Potter Universe but unfortunately I only own Mel, her family, and Devon.

* * *

><p>Four Years Difference<p>

Chapter One: Prologue

Four years can seem like a big chunk of time but in retrospect it is very small. Many things can happen in four years though. One person can change completely in the span of four years, maybe in less. Take Severus Snape as an example, when he was eighteen he was a death eater and on a fast track to Azkaban but by the time he was Twenty Two he was working at Hogwarts helping students keep from following the path he took. In those four years he became a better person and changed his ways. Many people say that Albus Dumbledore is the reason that he changed so much. And for all they know that is the reason he changed but if one knew Severus just a little bit better they could argue that his pen pal was the reason he changed.

Many people were oblivious to the fact that Severus had a pen pal; they just assumed that whenever he was writing he was writing to his ailing mother or to the Dark Lord. The Truth is he was keeping in contact with his friend who was still at Hogwarts. This friend has proved herself to be very true and loyal even though she is four years younger than him. She helped him through many things that were troublesome in his life. Some of the things she helped through included overcoming the fear he had from his abusive muggle father, helped him get over the marriage of his beloved to one of his worst enemies, and helped him get over the death of his beloved. If one were to base a life on how many bad events happened to a person it would seem as though Severus' life was utterly unfortunate but it was not. Severus had many things in life that made him happy. People who only knew the facts and events of his life were oblivious to all of the good things around him.

Many people know the story of Severus Snape, or at least they know the facts about him. They know that he was born to Eileen Prince and Tobias Snape on August 31, 1960 and that his father was an abusive muggle while his mother was a pure blood. People also know that at age 21 he began as the Potions Master at Hogwarts after Horace Slughorn decided to retire. At age 31 he began to teach the all famous Harry Potter and that he was never fond of the boy. During the rise of the Dark Lord he was a double agent for the Order of the Phoenix. When Severus was 36 he finally received the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. And towards the end of the school year he 'murdered' Albus Dumbledore at his request in order to help Harry Potter finish his quest to defeat Lord Voldemort. At age 37 he was given the position as headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry by the dark lord to keep all of the students under the watchful eye of Lord Voldemort. Finally Severus Snape died May 2nd when he was 37 at the Battle of Hogwarts during the Second Wizarding War. He died a hero even though for the last year of his life he was considered a traitor who only cared about the dark lord.

Now if people say they know the former potions master they have missed a large gap in his life, they have missed ten years. Most people assume that he was just the potions master and that nothing else of great importance happened during this time in his life. Ten years is a long time, one could have married and had two children in that time. Though that did not happen to Severus many things did happen to him. Surprisingly most of the things in that Severus considers important happened in those ten years of his life. Now the big question is what did Severus consider important, and what part did it play in his life? Well here is a hint, he was engaged to get married twice and it was to the same girl. Another hint is on the last day in his second year of teaching he received his first kiss.

Yes, Severus indeed fell in love beyond Lilly Evans and this girl, unlike Lilly, was in love with him too. To those who were wondering this girl was indeed his pen pal during those four years. People who knew the pair, only their closest friends and family, could easily argue that she was the one who helped him out of his dark stage of his life. Even though the two were almost completely opposite of each other they worked hard to maintain a relationship even if it was not a conventional relationship.

The story of how the two came to be starts out when a first year 'declared' defeat from potions. As this first year pondered what to do she was reminded of one of the many promises a teacher gives to their students each year: _If you are having such a hard time come to me and I will provide you with a tutor_. This student who had 'declared' defeat apparently surprised the teacher because he thought she was doing just fine in the class but he none-the–less set her up with her tutor because he knew that the subject could be very difficult. When the tutor and student meet for the first time they just seem to go over the school work but when the tutor and student start talking they eventually become friends, very close friends.

In this case the little first year was a shy little Hufflepuff with a few loyal friends and the tutor was and alienated sixth year Slytherin with no friends at all. This story is about how two unlikely people became the best of friends and then eventually lovers. This is the story of Melodina Moore and Seveus Snape and how four years difference affected their relationship in more ways than one.


	2. Defeat

A/N: Thank You for following and reviewing. Again if any of you feel my character is a Mary Sue please please please tell me because I worked hard not to make her a cliché but she might have turned out that way and if she did I need to know so that I can change her.

Disclaimer: Alas I do not own Harry Potter but I do own Mels, her family, and Devon

Chapter Two: Defeat

* * *

><p>Another year had begun at the all famous Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardy, this year was going to be like any other. Students would come to school, learn, have their adventures, make friends and enemies, fall in love, and eventually go home. The new students this year were normal; there was nothing extraordinary about them: no prophecies around any of them, no one was going to birth a famous child; no one was going to save the world. Well at least in this universe.<p>

At Kings Cross station there were many children saying their goodbyes to their parents. To some parents this was an emotional event to others it was just a stop on their way to work. The gist is that everyone seemed to be excited and happy for each other. This didn't seem to be the case for one family. A certain pair of parents was arguing over the different ways they chose to raise their child.

"Jackie why did you raise her like a muggle? She is not going to fit in with all of the other wizards who come from magical families." The loud booming voice came from a young looking man by the name of Tyler Moore.

"Well Byron you lost the right to judge my parenting when you moved to Australia and left Dina here without a father. You have no right to judge the way I raised _my_ daughter, and she did get to know her magical side." This high pitched squeaky voice came from the short blonde with a bold personality Jackie Winterbottom.

The two continued to fight and argue over everything. This put their child in a very awkward situation, the little red head loved both of her parents but she hated that they could never get along. That was the problem with having parents who were separated, well in Melodina's case never married. She was so embarrassed that her parents were making such a scene over the way that she was raised. It was true that even though her mother is basically a pureblood she chose to raise her in the muggle world. Mel was able to learn about magic though; her mother had three siblings who were very prominent in the magical world. They were the ones who told her about magic and Hogwarts.

Melodina was able to make her parents stop long enough so that she could give them a hug, promise to write, and promise not to get into trouble. Unfortunately the second she hopped on the train she was able to hear her parents arguing again. She knew that she was a mistake, her parents never told her that but she always knew. It was very taboo for her parents to never have married but they were nineteen when they had Mel so it sort of made sense.

Once the train had taken off she started to look for a compartment, luckily for her she saw one that was partially empty except for one girl with long straight brown hair and brown eyes. Surprisingly enough for Melodina she knew this girl. "Devon? You are coming to Hogwarts too?"

The girl, by the name of Devon, lit up when she heard the voice that belonged to her best friend. She scooted over so that she could sit next to her and answered "Mel! Yeah I got my letter and a man came to explain it to my parents that I am a witch. At first I thought that this was a dream but apparently I am still awake."

Melodina knew that her year was going to be a great one because her good friend from muggle schooling was coming with her. "Oh Devon we are going to have so much fun. Do you know what house you want to be in?"

"I am still sort of confused as to which house is which."

"Well…" Melodina started to explain how there were four houses and how each house tended to house a person with certain quality or trait. "So which of the four houses do you want to be in?"

Devon, still unsure of which house was which, answered "Well I don't care, as long as we are in the same house." Mel knew that that might not happen but she still hoped that that would happen. "What about you Mel? What house do you want to be in?"

Mel was actually unsure of this question herself, she came from a family of every house. She began to explain her answer to Devon. "Well seeing as Mum was a Hufflepuff and dad was a Ravenclaw I would think I could fit into either house. But my mum's siblings were in all of the houses. Aunt Kitty was in Ravenclaw, Uncle Louis was in Gryffindor, and Aunt Mara was in Slytherin so I feel that I have a good chance at all four houses."

Melodina and Devon continued to talk about the houses up until the train stopped. Once they got off they followed a man by the name of Hagrid to the boats that would take them up to the castle. At first sight the castle looked like a safe haven protected from all evils. Little did they know that in about twenty five years the castle would be the center of a wizarding battle and that it would tear apart the castle.

The first years were lead in to the great hall and after a message from the headmaster the sorting began. This year the students were called in alphabetical order.

"Anctil, Alonzo"

"Gryffindor"

"Brennon, Byron"

"Ravenclaw"

"Brown, Sarah"

"Slytherin"

And the ceremony continued sorting the students into the appropriate house with applause after each person was sorted into their house.

"Leigh, Grannie "

"Slytherin"

"Linn, Devon" Both Melodina and Devon held their breath because whichever house Devon was sorted into was the house Melodina would want to be in.

Devon hopped onto the stool and did not know what to expect. You are a very subtle child. "I am?"_ You are but you smart and you never show it. _"I am not smart…" _You will soon learn things about yourself that you never knew. Also you are loyal to the end._ "I am?" _Yes…. You want to be in the same house as your friend. Well in the house I put you in you will definitely be able to stay close with your friend._

"Hufflepuff"

"Markks, Silvia"

"Gryffindor"

"Moore, Melodina Marie" Melodina could just about kill her parents for making the school say her full name, she hated being called Melodina Marie but that was the _one thing_ her parents could agreed on: she was to be called Melodina Marie at school.

Melodina hopped on the stool and had the hat placed on her head. The second the hat was placed on her head she heard it say '_You are Jackie's daughter; you definitely follow in her footsteps Just keep on knowing yourself.' _

"Hufflepuff"

Devon stood up and applauded, she was the only one at the tables standing but the second Melodina made her way over to Hufflepuff she hugged her friend and the two sat next to each other and watched the rest of the ceremony. Some people assumed that they were related or just super close. Devon and Melodina knew that they had a great seven years ahead of them.

That night, once the opening feast was over, the girls followed the prefects to the Hufflepuff common room. Once they made it there, all of the first years gathered in the corner of the common room. Melodina noticed that there were five of them sorted into Hufflepuff this year. She had a feeling that the five of them would become very good friends over the course of the seven years. There were two boys and they seemed very close, almost as close as Melodina and Devon. There was also one more girl sorted into Hufflepuff, she had very curly blonde hair. Later Mel and Devon learned her name was Katherine.

* * *

><p>The first few months seemed to pass fairly quickly and by the time Christmas came people were able to know if they were good at a class or not. Mel felt perfectly adequate in nearly every class except for potions. She considered herself a brave person so before the Christmas holidays she went up to Professor Slughorn after class and asked him about getting a tutor.<p>

"But Miss Moore I feel that you are doing fine for a first year. Are you sure you want a tutor? I don't think I have ever had a first year ask for a tutor before"

Melodina stood tall and answered "Yes, because I feel that if I do not understand now I will not understand when we get to more difficult things and I need to be able to pass my tests with an A but preferably an E."

Professor Slughorn was surprised by this girl's determination to get a tutor and so he agreed, "Ok I will have one of my more talented sixth years tutor you because I feel that he would be the best for this situation. You will meet every Thursday at seven o'clock sharp right here starting after the Christmas Holiday."

Melodina nodded and left the class feeling more confident in the fact that she can change her fate in Potions. Once she left the classroom Devon was waiting for her, "So little missy what did you talk to Slughorn about. And please don't tell me you are already asking for an acceptance into the Slug Club already because you and I both know that that is not going to happen."

"No Dev I was asking him for a tutor. You know me I am basically failing that class and I really need to get above an A in each class each year to get the job I want." Mel was a first year and she already knew she wanted to be a traveling Anthropologist/ Archeologist in the wizarding world. Those jobs were not that common to the average wizard, most people end up at the Ministry or at the Prophet.

"Oh Mel you are always looking to boost your grade. I swear when I am in seventh year I am going to be gorgeous and flirt with all of the male professors. That is how I plan on getting my straight Es." Devon was quite the flirt, she had always wanted to flirt her way through life even though she didn't have to.

"Oh Dev" and Mel shook her head. She couldn't wait to watch and see how miserably she fails at that plan.

The two continued to talk and plan about the far but not too far future for the rest of the day, they both knew that tomorrow would be a long train ride home and for a good month the only time they would see one another would be if they happened to take the elevator up at the apartment building. At least they could see each other.


End file.
